What Authenticity Means to Brenna Potter CLC Pt.2
All about the power of music AND a playlist to start your weekend off right!
An Exciting Update
I reached my goal of selling 50 of my new guided journals, Authentic by Alexa!! Thank you SO much for your support in helping me reach this goal. I am so deeply grateful. Here’s to more authenticity.
Happy Friday! I’m got so excited for Part Two of my conversation with Brenna that I couldn’t wait until next week to share it with you.
Check out Part 1 here + an overview of this new series.
You can technically read part 1 and part 2 in whatever order you’d like, but you definitely need to read both! So much goodness here!
Here’s Brenna’s bio again —
Certified Life Coach, Brenna Potter is passionate about guiding young women through a transformative journey of self-discovery. With a focus on personal growth and topics such as self-love and self-compassion, she specializes in empowering her clients to become the best version of themselves while creating a life they love. As the proud owner of Coaching to Confidence, LLC, Brenna is dedicated to empowering young women as they navigate life's challenges and embrace personal growth, all while gaining confidence in the process. Her compassionate and empowering approach enables young women to discover their authentic selves, set their goals, and take action to create and live a life they love.
You can connect with Brenna and learn more about her work on Instagram at @coachingtoconfidence23 or by visiting her website.
Let’s get to Part 2!
ALEXA
I’d love to hear about why music is so important to you. I know you used to do your Musical Mondays on social media, I can even tell from the image of you as a little child that it’s always been important to you.
BRENNA
Absolutely. Music is in my family lineage. We have music in my family. My dad definitely was in a garage band at one point as a singer, so we grew up with a lot of fun different types of music in my house. If you look at some of the albums that are nostalgic from my childhood, it’s some of the most obscure things because that’s what I was exposed to. My dad loves rock and roll but he also loves metal. There’s this whole fad of people right now getting on the bandwagon for the band Creed and I’m like, I’ve been listening to them since I was a child! I was in my booster seat chilling and jamming to Creed as a kid.
ALEXA
Oh my God that makes my day.
BRENNA
And my boyfriend and I joke about it because that was an experience for both of us. We listened to it as kids. We were Creed fans before Creed was cool. But yeah, we always had diverse music in my house.
And growing up, I loved to sing. I would try my hardest in elementary school to be in school plays. It felt like the best part of my day. As I got older, I got into band in middle school, I was in a marching band which I loved. I don’t care who will call be a nerd.
ALEXA
I mean if you weren’t a nerd in high school, who even were you?
BRENNA
We all had something we were a little nerdy about!
But yeah, I love hearing new music. Going back further, I was just thinking about this this morning. When I was a toddler, my mom would put on a CD in the music and we would start our mornings dancing. I have zero memory of this, but when she reminisces and tells me that - I can recreate it in my mind’s eye. I may not remember it, but I know what it felt like to wake up with my mom, who was of course my best friend as a child, and just dance and be happy, and listen to things that make us joyous.
ALEXA
Thank you for painting this portrait. I love it. I’m deeply obsessed. What are some of those songs that give you that feeling of getting up and being joyous? Any favorite musical soundtracks? Go-to songs? What’s the Brenna soundtrack these days?
BRENNA
Oh my God, so many things. It so depends. I’m also into podcasts these days and that’s a lot of my listening time.
But okay, in terms of musicals, I got to see Wicked in middle school, ion New York, and it’s one of the only shows I’ve seen live. But beautiful. Always.
ALEXA
We could talk about that for hours. I went twice during the recent anniversary weekend. I literally cried during Dear Old Shiz. People were staring at me.
BRENNA
That’s fantastic.
BRENNA
I feel like I’m doing myself a disservice if I don’t mention that I’m a huge Panic at the Disco fan. Very much part of my identity as a highschooler but even to this day. I can recognize their songs in two notes.
ALEXA
YES!
BRENNA
Very different genres. I was listening to Vanessa Carlton the other day, her album Be Not Nobody. I was 6 years old bee bopping to that with my cousin.
BRENNA
And now it’s different because we stream everything, so I’m not always listening to the full album. I started last year, like birthday lists for myself. So I turned 25, and this is my 25 list. And I streamed a ton of music, and anything that brought me music goes on that playlist!
ALEXA
I do a similar thing where I keep a running list throughout the year, and don’t let myself go back and edit it! I have to share mine with you after this call.
I also have to tell you I love Panic! at the Disco. I find music in really eclectic ways and that’s a big part of my personality. Like I can be in Starbucks, hear 5 notes and go “oh this is a banger”, and then I’ll shazam it. I heard “Death of a Bachelor” in a bachelor promo, in a youtube ad, when I was studying abroad in London. I was watching some video one day before school. And I just got so obsessed with this song immediately.
ALEXA
I often say that music can bring me back to myself. And there are just songs with memories, and songs I listen to on hard days, and I’m wondering if you could say more about the role music plays in your life. It sounds like joy is a big emotion with music for you.
BRENNA
Music definitely gets me in the zone, and in flow. I think about being in middle school on the orchestra stage, dancing with my family in the kitchen while we’re cooking dinner, the first time I heard my boyfriend play songs that I love and we went “no way!!” and now that’s one of our songs.
There’s so much joy, and music also allows me to get into the emotions when I need them. I’m somebody who has struggled with emotional regulation over time, as we all have. It’s a new term for me, emotional dysregulation. Music is something I’ve always unknowingly used to regulate myself. If I feel like I need to feel the sadness of something so I can get it out of my body, I turn to music. Or for any other emotion. Or if I need a burst of motivation in the middle of the day, I’ll put on a song that I’ve been loving.
ALEXA
That’s so real in so many different ways.
You also posted the other day about Speak Now being one of your big go-to albums back in the day, so I can’t not ask you about Taylor Swift!
BRENNA
I was a big Taylor Swift fan back in the day!
ALEXA
There is nothing like the Fearless/Speak Now high school moment.
BRENNA
There is nothing like singing Taylor Swift songs about a broken heart when you’ve never been in a relationship. It just hits.
ALEXA
That’s why at the Eras Tour movie I was so pleased to see all these little girls screaming their hearts out to the All Too Well (10 Minute Version.)
ALEXA
I also remember sitting on the floor of my high school bedroom hearing the lyric, “Abigail gave everything to a boy who changed his mind.” And that was the most devastating thing I’d ever heard. And it still is! I was like, he what?! That was so beyond me. I was like, is Abigail okay?!
Okay so I have to ask - if you were at karaoke and the power goes out and you have to sing a Taylor Swift song you know all the words to, what is it?
BRENNA
Oh I know so many! The first one that came to me was “Never Grow Up.” That popped into my head yesterday. I don’t want to grow up either!
ALEXA
Oh I know, and when “You’re On Your Own, Kid” came out I felt the same way.
What’s your go-to banger?
BRENNA
The whole Speak Now album. I went to that tour, that one is everything.
ALEXA
I went to the Fearless tour! If I heard “Hey Stephen” live right now, I would go wild. And even before that, “Our Song.”
BRENNA
And “Picture to Burn.”
ALEXA
I’m ready for the re-release. I could talk about her authenticity and the way she’s reclaiming herself with these re-releases for days.
As we’re wrapping up, I want to talk to you about authenticity for the rest of my life and I’m just so grateful for this conversation.
How are you hoping to cultivate more authenticity in 2024? What are some ways you maybe already have?
BRENNA
I’m going to quote you. Your instagram post coming into the year was like, “I don’t want to be the brand new shiny version of myself. I want to be the most me I’ve ever been.” You put the words to what I couldn’t verbalize. I’ve been a lot of different versions of myself throughout my early 20s and now I’m looking back and going, I’m so different than I was before. And now me is claiming confidence, gratitude and joy. And to do that, she’s getting into spaces that inspire her. She’s consuming materials and media that inspire her and help her learn and grow and continue to be a growth mindset person. And she’s not afraid to share that with anybody.
I’m at the point where I’ll pretty much take a meeting with anybody about anything, and I don’t expect anything in return. A lot of people have told me that’s a terrible way to be a business owner and I don’t care. I’d rather have a great conversation with somebody and make a connection than go into it expecting them to do something for me. I just want to know you.
ALEXA
I’m so grateful to know YOU. I really can’t thank you enough for your authenticity and vulnerability. I admire you and respect you so much. So excited to keep being in community with you, knowing you, and sharing all the things!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
BRENNA
Thank you so much for having me, Alexa. As always it has been such a pleasure talking with you. If any of your readers want to continue the conversation one-on-one I'd love to chat! I offer a free 1hr complimentary session that can be booked on my website and I'm also pretty active on Instagram. I like to share stories about my business, my adorable cats, client successes, and the music I enjoy. So, if anyone wants to connect there they can find me at @coachingtoconfidence23."
Thank you so much for reading! Make sure to follow Brenna so that you can keep up with all the amazing things she’s up to.
And stay tuned for another conversation about authenticity next Wednesday!
Oh and PS - you didn’t think I would end this post without a playlist where you can find all the songs we mentioned, did you? You’re welcome!